REPORT SEPTEMBER 2016

A GUIDE TO PLACEMAKING FOR MOBILITY

4 a better city a guide to placemaking for mobility

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS CONTENTS

A Better City would like to thank the Boston Transportation 5 Introduction Department and the Public Realm Interagency Working Group for their participation in the development of this research. 6 What is the Public Realm? This effort would not have been possible without the generous 7 Boston’s Public Realm funding support of the Barr Foundation. 7 Decoding Boston’s Public Realm: A Framework of Analysis TEAM 15 Evaluating the Public Realm

A Better City 16 Strategies for Enhancing • Richard Dimino the Public Realm • Thomas Nally 21 Small Interventions lead • Irene Figueroa Ortiz to Big Changes

Boston Transportation Department 23 Envisioning a Vibrant Public Realm • Chris Osgood • Gina N. Fiandaca • Vineet Gupta • Alice Brown

Public Realm Interagency Working Group • Boston Parks and Recreation Department • Boston Redevelopment Authority • Department of Innovation and Technology • Mayor’s Commission for Persons with Disabilities • Mayor’s Office • Mayor’s Office of New Urban Mechanics A Better City is a diverse group • Mayor’s Youth Council of business leaders united around a • Office of Arts and Culture common goal—to enhance Boston and • Office of Environment, the region’s economic health, competi- Energy and Open Space tiveness, vibrancy, sustainability and • Office of Neighborhood Services quality of life. By amplifying the voice • Public Works Department of the business community through collaboration and consensus across Stantec’s Urban Places Group a broad range of stakeholders, A Better • David Dixon City develops solutions and influences • Jeff Sauser policy in three critical areas central • Erin Garnaas-Holmes to the Boston region’s economic com- petitiveness and growth: transporta- tion and infrastructure, land use and development, and energy and environment.

To view a hyperlinked version of this report online, go to http://www.abettercity.org/docs-new/Guide_to_ Placemaking_for_Mobility.pdf.

Design: David Gerratt/NonprofitDesign.com a guide to placemaking for mobility a better city 5

A GUIDE TO PLACEMAKING FOR MOBILITY

INTRODUCTION the places and corridors that make up Boston’s mobility system. From “pavement to plazas,” to parklets, and to pop-up interventions, municipal rights-of-way are A Guide to Placemaking for Mobility is part of a fast becoming essential to the public realm in many research series produced via the Public Realm cities. In Boston, efforts to improve infrastructure Planning Study for Go Boston 2030, Boston’s city- for people walking, biking, and waiting for the bus -wide mobility action plan. Experiential Quality was have led to new combinations of design features a key theme of Go Boston 2030’s Question Campaign that make our streets and sidewalks feel like places in 2015, and developing public spaces on streets to spend time in, rather than spaces to simply move and at transit stations that are welcoming, safe, through. A Guide to Placemaking for Mobility intro- and fun is a primary goal of this new transportation duces a framework of analysis for understanding plan. In order to achieve these objectives, A Better the relationship between mobility and public realm. City partnered with the Boston Transportation Furthermore, this document provides an overview of Department to develop the Public Realm Planning the history of Boston’s public realm, and describes Study and A Guide to Placemaking for Mobility for emerging design and planning strategies to improve Go Boston 2030, in an effort to establish a public realm action plan for the City of Boston. 6 a better city a guide to placemaking for mobility

What is the Public Realm? network, including transit stations. The experience within the public realm is also dependent on what The public realm, at its most utilitarian level, is happens while you are there—events, interactions, the space people move through to get from place performances, sounds, smells, and emotions are to place. To that end, its design should be optimized also part of the public realm. South Station isn’t to facilitate efficient mobility across a full range just where we catch the train; it’s also where we look of modes, from cars to pedestrians, bikes, transit, at public art, where we pick up our visiting friends and everything in between. Public realm initiatives and family, and where we eat lunch. Roxbury Cross- operate around a central philosophy: that traveling ing isn’t just where we transfer from train to bus; through a city should be a positive experience for it’s also the front door for many educational and all. Since commuting through Boston is the primary religious institutions and the intersection of three interaction between citizens and the public realm, unique neighborhoods. The Charles River Esplanade enhancing the mobility system is a powerful way isn’t just part of our bicycle route to work; it’s also to improve it. where we watch fireworks, listen to the Boston Pops, and stroll with our loved ones on summer In Boston, the public realm is more than just public days. In this way, the space of mobility is also a space. The public realm encompasses all of the social, cultural, and civic place. A train car is also physical objects that occur on or in streets, path- a living room; a transit station is also a festival ways, rights-of-way, parks, and publicly accessible site; a bus stop is also a monument. Designing for open spaces. When discussing mobility, the public mobility in the city of Boston must include consider- realm includes any public or civic buildings and ation of all the integrally-linked and richly-layered any facilities that provide access to the mobility facets of our collective lives.

1800’S AND EARLY 1900’S

QUINCY MARKET THE EMERALD NECKLACE BACK BAY THE GREEN LINE THE CHARLES (1826) (1870) (1880) (1897) RIVER ESPLANADE (STARTED IN 1930’S) Much more than an Back Bay is famous for As the first subway in exquisite greenway, its rows of preserved America, the Green Line the Emerald Necklace 19th-century Victorian not only transformed how symbolically connected brownstone homes, people got around, but many of Boston’s most cultural institutions like redefined the urban land- important places, land- the Boston Public Library, scape by creating spaces scapes, and landmarks. shopping districts like for social activity and Its creation established Newbury Street, and cultural expression at a model for park infra- promenades like its key stops. The con- structure that has been Commonwealth Avenue. struction of the subway emulated worldwide seeded swathes of the since. city for redevelopment and modernization. a guide to placemaking for mobility a better city 7

BOSTON’S PUBLIC REALM DECODING BOSTON’S PUBLIC REALM: A FRAMEWORK OF ANALYSIS Historical Context Boston’s public realm can be analyzed through Boston has a long history of successfully combining a historical lens, but it can also be understood as mobility and public space priorities through trans- a collection of parts. This section will categorize the portation infrastructure investments, and it has components of Boston’s mobility system as either established world-class places with a pioneering places or corridors, and then further into specific spirit. Boston’s public realm legacy was built over typologies. In addition to the role that these spaces many centuries in response to dramatic social, play in transportation, these classifications are economic, and cultural change. This legacy begins based on the human dimension of mobility—or with the city’s founding and early growth in the late what it feels like to be in, or pass through, a space 17th and 18th centuries. Boston Common, Quincy as a pedestrian, bicyclist, or transit rider. Market, and Long Wharf represented significant public investments in our agricultural and maritime The definitions on the following pages are based on economies. However, much of their value to Boston the ways people commonly use the mobility system. over more than three centuries lies in the communal They include places where people access the spirit and civic ambition that shaped them. The greater mobility system, like transit stations and timeline below highlights historic urban endeavors Hubway bicycle rental docks, as well as routes that that helped to shape Boston’s present-day public people take to travel to or between those access realm. points. While these definitions are comprehensive and embody all of the components that make up the

MID-1900’S TO EARLY 2000’S

THE FREEDOM TRAIL CITY HALL PLAZA PEDESTRIANIZATION SOUTHWEST CORRIDOR PARK THE CENTRAL ARTERY (1951) (1960’S) OF DOWNTOWN (1987) PROJECT AND ROSE KENNEDY CROSSING GREENWAY (2008) Delivering one of the City Hall Plaza, (1979) As a leading example greatest draws in well on its way of transit investment One of the country’s tourism for the city, to incorporating doing much more than largest and most trans- the red brick line of innovative public HARBORWALK conveying passengers, formational single urban the Freedom Trail not realm interventions, (1984) the Southwest Corridor investments, the Big Dig only helps visitors embodies the Park has promoted fine- replaced the elevated find their next desti- aesthetics of its grained, multi-modal Central Artery (I-93) nation, it literally ties building era and mobility at the human for the Rose Kennedy together centuries of continues to host scale and established Greenway, Boston’s historical sites both regional celebrations, a seam that unites grandest boulevard and large and small to tell including musical neighborhoods of the proudest civic space. the story of how our performances and Back Bay and South nation came to be. cultural festivals. End to Jamaica Plain and Roxbury. 8 a better city a guide to placemaking for mobility

FIGURE 1: When we think about mobility we don’t always think about how the spaces we use to get around the city make people feel. Planning for mobility should include efforts to enhance the sense of place.

mobility system, they are neither objective nor mutually exclusive. For example, one person may consider a corridor to be a greenway that they use “EACH PLACE AND to ride their bicycle from one part of town to another, while another may consider the same corridor CORRIDOR HAS ITS OWN a pedestrian promenade along which they walk with their family on weekends. Nevertheless, these categories represent each of the ways people use GOALS FOR PLACEMAKING, different parts of the mobility system. AND THE MOBILITY This glossary in turn provides a framework of analysis to better understand how spaces could SYSTEM OVERALL HAS A be improved to both serve their mobility role and become more successful places. Each place and corridor has its own goals for placemaking, and the SET OF GOALS THAT APPLY mobility system overall has a set of goals that apply to every space in the system. Placemaking refers TO EVERY SPACE IN THE to a people-centered approach to planning and design of public space. These practices focus on SYSTEM.” elements that enhance the experience of living, working and playing in a place, and often begin with small-scale, strategic improvements. A place- making goal describes a condition that, if present, it would significantly improve the user experience. The evaluation of spaces based on these goals begins to suggest ways to strategically improve Boston’s network of mobility spaces. a guide to placemaking for mobility a better city 9

TABLE 1: The Human Dimension of Mobility: Summary of Spatial Typologies TYPOLOGY CHARACTERISTIC SCALE EXAMPLES PLACES Mobility Hubs Major destinations and Regional • North Station inter-modal transfer spaces Citywide • South Station within the mobility system • Back Bay Station • Logan International Airport

Gateways Places that people pass through on Regional • Downtown Crossing their way to regionally significant Citywide • Copley Square destinations • Aquarium • Long Wharf

Squares Primary places of neighborhood Neighborhood • Haymarket activity that are served by rail or • Codman Square bus transit • Sullivan Square • Andrew Square

Centers Secondary places of neighborhood Neighborhood • Stony Brook activity served by bus or rail transit • Codman Square • Roxbury Crossing • Broadway Points Any smaller places where people Neighborhood • Car-share stations access the greater mobility system • Bike-share stations • MBTA stations • Bus route stops CORRIDORS Greenways Pedestrian and bicycle Regional • Charles River Esplanade thoroughfares separated from Citywide • Southwest Corridor other transportation modes • East Boston Greenway

Transit Collectors Prominent pedestrian connections Neighborhood • Dartmouth Street to hubs, gateways, squares, and • Hyde Park Avenue centers • Massachusetts Avenue

Neighborhood Bridges Pedestrian connections between Neighborhood • Cambridge Street neighborhoods • Washington Street • Berkeley Street Bridge

Pedestrian Promenades Corridors that function as Neighborhood • Centre Street destinations • Newbury Street • Boylston Street 10 a better city a guide to placemaking for mobility

Boston’sFIGURE Mobility 2: Boston’s Network Mobility Network MALDEN MALDEN

ARLINGTON MEDFORD REVERE EVERETT This map demonstrates how a person might map out the categories of the mobility system CHELSEA inB EBoston.LMONT This image is a subjective example and is not definitive--one person’s map mayS OMERVILLE be different than another’s.

WINTHROP CAMBRIDGE

WINTHROP WATERTOWN

NEWTON BROOKLINE

NEEDHAM

QUINCY

DEDHAM MILTON

Places Corridors

Hub Transit Collector Gateway Neighborhood Bridge Square GreenwayBRAINTREE WESTWOOD Center CANTON Pedestrian Promenade 0 0.35 0.7 1.4 2.1 2.8 Point NORWOOD Miles a guide to placemaking for mobility a better city 11

“ANY SHARED OR PUBLIC SPACE THAT A PERSON PASSES THROUGH ON THEIR JOURNEY THROUGH

THE MOBILITY SYSTEM THE CITY IS PART OF THE The mobility system includes all modes, locations, roads, pathways, events and interactions that make MOBILITY SYSTEM.” up the city’s mobility network.

The mobility system includes all of the places and the mobility system and know they are in corridors that people use to get around in Boston. Boston while traveling through the city. The system includes streets, sidewalks, bikeways, trails and highways, train stations, train car interi- • Experiential: Use of the mobility system should ors, bus stops, and public plazas outside of transit be a positive experience. Features of the mobility stations. Any shared or public space that a person system should create comfortable physical passes through on their journey through the city environments for the people it serves and help is part of the mobility system. enhance the social, cultural, and civic dimen- sions of transportation. Any part of the mobility system should achieve four overarching placemaking goals: • Resilient: The mobility system should be eco- logically prepared. It should endure and recover • Safe and Accessible: The mobility system from shocks, including climate catastrophes, should ensure the safety of users and exceed social or economic disruptions, and other all accessibility standards. For example, all unforeseen events. spaces should surpass the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act and any local PLACES safety standards. Places are physical locations defined by their role in the city’s mobility system. A place in the mobility • Branded: The mobility system should be clearly system is a space that plays a role in how people get identified as part of Boston’s mobility system. around, and that users identify as unique compared Users should be able to recognize features of to other spaces. A place is a location that can be 12 a better city a guide to placemaking for mobility

Hubs are used by large numbers of people and should thus offer a variety of social spaces to accommodate both large gatherings and brief social encounters between individuals. As regionally significant places, hubs should feature art or design that expresses the character or tells the story of the region. Hubs should be civic spaces that feature design and architecture unique to Boston, yet open to all people.

Gateways Gateways are places that people pass through on their way to regionally significant destinations. Gateways can be transit stations near popular points of interest or intermediary gathering named, like a plaza, train station, bus stop or spaces between them. boat ramp. Successful gateways not only help people get to Places should accomplish the overarching goals their destination, but also feature social, cultural, of the mobility system listed above, and additionally and civic aspects themselves. Gateways should have their own set of placemaking goals: provide meeting points and gathering spaces for small groups and large crowds. The cultural charac- • Social: A place should encourage interaction ter of a gateway should relate to the nearby facilities. between different users. In addition to accom- A gateway should be accessible and open to all modating the movement of people, a successful people regardless of their final destination. place in the mobility network should facilitate conversation, gathering, events, and other Squares social uses. Squares are primary places of neighborhood activity that are served by rail or bus transit. Squares feature • Cultural: Places should tell the story of the a concentration of pedestrian movement in a neigh- surrounding neighborhood, region, or city. They borhood and include the spaces around heavily- should illustrate the character, history, and used transit stations or intersections of major values of the people who use it through art, streets and transit lines. design, events, or other forms of expression. A square should feel like the core public social • Civic: Places should serve a civic purpose. space in a neighborhood. It should offer room and They should feel open and inclusive to all people amenities for social gatherings, crowds, and events while fostering a sense of local ownership over as well as public spaces to facilitate brief social public space. Civic places can also be land- encounters between neighbors and friends. A marks that people recognize, featuring notable square should tell the story of the surrounding design or architecture exemplary of the area. neighborhood and feature unique civic services, art, or design. Places are sub-divided into the categories below based on their role in Boston’s transportation Centers network: Centers are secondary places of neighborhood Mobility Hubs activity served by bus or rail transit. Centers include moderately-significant transit stations, and they Mobility Hubs are major destinations and inter- may accommodate social events or gatherings, modal transfer spaces within the mobility system. but are not always considered to be the nucleus They generate significant activity and are widely of the neighborhood. recognized as vital to regional transportation. People use hubs as an entrance point to and exit from Boston, as transfer points from one train line or travel mode to another, and as central landmarks and meeting points. a guide to placemaking for mobility a better city 13

Centers should provide spaces for social gatherings CORRIDORS and encourage interaction between neighbors. Corridors are linear spaces that pedestrians use Centers should feature art or design that reflects to get to or from one place to another. A corridor is the culture of the people who use them. Neighbor- a route that many people use consistently and may hoods should feel a sense of ownership over their connect or pass through several places. Corridors centers, but they should also feel open and acces- include pedestrian spaces like sidewalks, cross- sible to anyone. walks, trails, and paths.

Points Corridors should accomplish the overarching goals Points are any smaller places where people access of the mobility system: they should be safe and the greater mobility system. Points include bus accessible, branded, experiential, and resilient. In stops along heavily-used routes, Hubway bicycle addition, corridors have their own set of place- rental docks, and surface Green Line stations. making goals:

Points should support brief social encounters. They should feature art, design or cultural expression that tells a short story about local issues. Points are ubiquitous throughout the mobility system “POINTS ARE ANY SMALLER and should feel universal to Boston but unique to other cities. PLACES WHERE PEOPLE ACCESS THE GREATER MOBILITY SYSTEM. POINTS INCLUDE BUS STOPS ALONG HEAVILY-USED ROUTES, HUBWAY BICYCLE RENTAL DOCKS, AND SURFACE GREEN LINE STATIONS. ” 14 a better city a guide to placemaking for mobility

• Helpful: A corridor should help users find their way. It should help users know the time, distance and route to their destination.

• Informative: A corridor should help people discover activities in the neighborhood around them. It should feature information about neighborhood news and events and interpret the story of the places it is connected to.

• Inviting: Corridors should be inviting. They should make people feel comfortable and safe. They should feature high quality design and be regularly maintained. Corridors must exceed all accessibility standards.

Corridors are sub-divided into the categories below based on their role in Boston.

Greenways Greenways are pedestrian and bicycle thorough- fares separated from other transportation modes. Neighborhood Bridges Greenways are similar to highways, but they are Neighborhood bridges are pedestrian connections used for non-automobile modes and provide access between neighborhoods; they are the routes that to distant parts of Boston or the greater region. pedestrians would typically take to walk from one Greenways should regularly feature information part of town to another. On occasion, these can be about a user’s location in correlation with the route actual bridges, like the bridge to South Boston near and distance to nearby landmarks or destinations. Broadway Station on the MBTA Red Line or to the Greenways should include elements that tell a story Seaport from the Downtown Waterfront. about the corridor. They should be accessible and Neighborhood bridges should help users know when user-friendly for a variety of non-automobile trans- they are leaving and entering different neighbor- portation modes including pedestrians, bicycles, hoods. They should make the route and distance roller-blades, long boards, roller-skates, etc. to nearby neighborhoods apparent. They should Transit Collectors provide information about current news and events in the neighborhoods they connect. They should Transit collectors are prominent pedestrian connec- feel safe, inviting and accessible. tions to hubs, gateways, squares, and centers. They are the routes on which pedestrians converge as Pedestrian Promenades they approach transit stations. Transit collectors Pedestrian promenades are corridors that function include the sidewalks along main streets, pedestrian as destinations. People may visit pedestrian prome- paths, and open public spaces directly leading to nades in order to walk along them, see other people, transit station entrances. view nature, or shop. Transit collectors should clearly define the route Pedestrian promenades should clearly commu- to the transit station. They should make information nicate or label the streets and routes that they about the region or neighborhood accessible to include. They should share information about local users and feature high-quality design that is unique news and events. They should feature high quality, to their neighborhood. unique design. a guide to placemaking for mobility a better city 15

EVALUATING THE PUBLIC REALM As a center, the plaza should fit the social, cultural, and civic needs identified in this framework by This section demonstrates how this framework of providing spaces for small-scale social gathering analysis can be applied to assess the public realm and encouraging interaction between the different in Boston. The plaza outside of the Roxbury Crossing people using the space; featuring art or design that MBTA station is a center – a non-central place of reflects the different cultures of the people who use neighborhood activity that is served by bus or rail it and tells the story of the neighborhoods nearby; transit. The center lies between two neighborhoods, and creating a sense of ownership over the public Roxbury and Mission Hill, and people who use the space via its open and accessible nature. plaza are often transferring between five different transportation modes: bicycling, walking, taking The primary social elements of the public space the bus, riding the subway, or driving. This plaza is are its benches and the space within bus shelters. located across the street from significant civic facil- While providing a resting place for pedestrians, the ities like Roxbury Community College, the Islamic benches face away from each other and are spaced Society of Boston Cultural Center, and the Reggie far apart; with this organization, they do not encour- Lewis Athletic Center. It is within walking distance age social interaction. The bus shelters can moti- from other schools and a nearby commercial area, vate people to gather close to each other, especially and the Southwest Corridor Park passes directly in inclement weather, but they do not necessarily through this plaza. Columbus Avenue, Tremont encourage people to interact with each other. The Street and Malcolm X Boulevard generate high general landscape of this plaza does little to cele- amounts of surrounding vehicle traffic. brate the diverse cultures that use the space. There is one inconspicuous monument in the space, but no

FIGURE 3: The site analysis evaluates the area outside the MBTA Roxbury Crossing Station.

Roxbury Crossing Station Reggie Lewis Athletic Center

TREMONT ST

MALCOLM X BLVD

COLUMBUS AVE Islamic Society of Boston Places

Roxbury Community College Hub Gateway Square Center Point

Corridors

Transit Collector Neighborhood Bridge Greenway Pedestrian Promenade 16 a better city a guide to placemaking for mobility

interpretive elements reflect the contemporary STRATEGIES FOR ENHANCING users of Roxbury Crossing. The plaza is civic in that THE PUBLIC REALM it is open to the public, but it does not always feel open to everyone at the same time; the existing How do we make our mobility spaces better places? spatial design leads to chaotic and potentially dan- There are countless examples of improvements and gerous encounters between pedestrians, bus riders, projects that Boston and other cities around the and cyclists using the Southwest Corridor path. world have undertaken in order to enhance the pub- While some design elements of this public space, lic space of mobility systems. The following tables like its granite posts and informational signs, link showcase a selection of placemaking strategies its character to the rest of the Southwest Corridor that have been most success in turning mobility Park, the plaza is otherwise generic in design and spaces into fun and thriving public places. does not feel unique to the neighborhood. These projects range from top-down, government- Given this evaluation, any new intervention in the funded infrastructural projects to bottom-up, neigh- Roxbury Crossing plaza should focus on civic pro- borhood-driven art projects. Depending on the site gramming and physical improvements that would and its regional significance, it may be more appro- promote social interaction. New design features priate for the City (or even State or Federal Agencies) should reflect the culture of the people and neigh- to guide implementation of a project. However, some borhoods that use the place. This location would spaces are more significant to the neighborhood tremendously benefit from wayfinding elements to that uses them than the region as a whole, and their articulate the way in which bicyclists, pedestrians, improvement could be implemented by neighborhood- and transit-riders navigate the space.

FIGURE 4: Diagram identifies spatial conditions negatively impacting the user experience in Roxbury Crossing.

Benches Face Away

Not much shade Inconspicuous Monuments

Cyclists compete with Street trees removed pedestrians in open plaza a guide to placemaking for mobility a better city 17

“THERE ARE COUNTLESS EXAMPLES OF IMPROVEMENTS AND PROJECTS THAT based, grassroots organizations or local artists and BOSTON AND OTHER designers. Some interventions may cost more or less to install and maintain, which may in CITIES AROUND THE turn inform which organization should imple- ment them. WORLD HAVE UNDER- The types of interventions presented here are categorized as passive, interactive, or temporal. TAKEN IN ORDER TO Passive interventions are permanent adjustments to the built environment that change how people ENHANCE THE PUBLIC physically move through spaces, including sidewalk expansions, conversion of roadway into pedestrian SPACE OF MOBILITY space, or static pieces of public art. Interactive interventions, like fountains, exercise facilities, push-button heat lamps, and collaborative digital SYSTEMS.” art, are additions to the built environment that encourage social activity or play. Temporal in- terventions are projects that only exist temporarily, including events, performances and farmer’s markets. 18 a better city a guide to placemaking for mobility

TABLE 2: Passive STRATEGIES PLACEMAKING GOALS RELATIVE COST Social Cultural Civic Helpful Informative Inviting Install Maintain New public places (e.g. square, community ● ● ● $$$ $$ “room”) Converted roadways ● $$$ $$ (e.g. Woonerfs) Retrofitted public spaces (e.g. plaza, amphitheater, ● ● ● $$$ $$$ pavilion) Public art ● ● $$$ $ (e.g. murals, sculptures) Streetscape (e.g. landscaping, furniture, ● ● ● ● ● $$ $$ trees, lighting) Public realm amenities

(e.g. drinking fountains, ● ● ● $$ $$ Dots indicate the placemaking goals accomplished by the strategy. signage) Transit amenities (e.g. well-designed ● ● ● ● $$ $$ shelters, seating, etc.) Transit branding/ ● ● ● ● $$$ $ marketing New activity centers (land use) near hubs, ● ● ● ● $$$ $$$ nodes Surface re-designed infrastructure ● ● ● ● ● ● $$$ $$ (e.g. painted walks) Structurally re-designed infrastructure ● ● $$$ $ (e.g. bumpouts)

“Faces of Dudley” mural in Roxbury. a guide to placemaking for mobility a better city 19

TABLE 3: Interactive STRATEGIES PLACEMAKING GOALS RELATIVE COST Social Cultural Civic Helpful Informative Inviting Install Maintain Interactive art (musical installation, digital ● ● ● ● $$ $$ screens, etc.) Real time information (transit schedule, ● ● ● ● ● ● $$$ $$ tweet-board, etc.) Dots indicate the placemaking goals accomplished by the strategy.

Interactive fountains ● ● $$$ $$$ “Third place” retail ● ● ● $$$ $ (e.g. news stand, café) Recreation (e.g. workout ● ● ● $$ $ stations, playgrounds) Digitally interactive 2D/”paper” signage ● ● ● ● ● $$$ $ (e.g. QR codes) Interactive amenities (moveable chairs, ● ● ● ● $$$ $$ buttons, etc.) Public games (e.g. crosswalk “pong”, ● ● ● $$ $ chess tables)

Street Pianos in Boston. 20 a better city a guide to placemaking for mobility

TABLE 4: Temporal STRATEGIES PLACEMAKING GOALS RELATIVE COST Social Cultural Civic Helpful Informative Inviting Install Maintain Pop-up public spaces (e.g. parklets, temporary ● ● ● $ $ art) One-time community events (e.g. festivals, ● ● ● $ $ concerts) Dots indicate the placemaking goals accomplished by the strategy. Regularly scheduled open programming ● ● ● $ $ (e.g. market) Group-sponsored events (e.g. yoga, potlucks, ● ● ● $ $ bike rides) Seasonal installations ● ● ● ● $$ $ (e.g. holiday exhibits) Mobile place-making (e.g. art trucks) ● ● ● $ $

Temporary service location (e.g. weekly ● ● $ $ CSA pick-up) Small-scale/temporary wayfinding ● ● ● ● ● $ $

Playway in Coleman Street. a guide to placemaking for mobility a better city 21

“BOSTON HAS BEEN HOME TO MANY SUCCESSFUL PLACE- SMALL INTERVENTIONS LEAD TO BIG CHANGES MAKING INITIATIVES,

American cities, including Boston, have entered LED BY BOTH GOVERN- a new era of public space. Rather than conceiving public realm improvements as large capital invest- MENT AGENCIES ments, cities are resorting to tactical interventions to improve and expand its network of public spaces. Known as placemaking, these strategies are expres- AND INDEPENDENT sions of urban acupuncture. They start as small, strategic interferences and over time grow incre- COMMUNITY GROUPS. ” mentally into larger infrastructural projects. Boston is no stranger to this trend. For the past few years, the city has been home to many successful place- realm in squares like Audubon Circle and making initiatives, led by both government agencies Central Square. and independent community groups. • Boston’s Complete Streets provides guidelines The following section provides examples of how for enhancing streets and sidewalks for pedes- the placemaking strategies presented have been trians and cyclists. successfully implemented in Boston. It demonstrates the importance of developing new systematic ways • Boston’s Public Works Department is redesign- to channel this enthusiasm and potential. ing Edward Everette Square, Upham’s Corner, and North Square to give them neighborhood- Efforts led by the City of Boston focused identities. • The Boston Transportation Department has developed neighborhood playways, installed • Boston Bikes advocates for and supports parklets, and worked to improve the public artistic bicycle racks throughout the city. 22 a better city a guide to placemaking for mobility

• The Mayor’s Office of New Urban Mechanics • The Design Museum has added benches to the has launched their second Public Space In- Fort Point Channel, installed “pattern walk” by vitational. Winners of the first round built an wrapping stark concreted pillars of commercial interactive musical installation in bridges, lit buildings, and is developing an Urban Innova- up a neighborhood park and brought portable tion Gallery under the I-93 Overpass. libraries to the Greenway. • Washington Gateway Main Streets, a collabora- • An interagency partnership established a food tor of the Design Musem, is developing strategies truck program, which has brought more people for improving placemaking on Washington outside to eat lunch and socialize. Street with the Congress for the New Urbanism New England’s “DoTank.” • The City of Boston and the Boston Society of Architects launched an ideas competition in • Neighborhood-based arts and music events the spring of 2016 to redesign the Northern including Porchfest and Illuminus have brought Avenue Bridge into a destination. communities together around a shared public space experience in Boston’s streets. • On August 8th, the Office of Neighborhood Services led Open Newbury Street. This initia- • The Rose Kennedy Greenway has used pro- tive temporarily eliminated vehicular traffic gramming and art installations to bring life to from a segment of Newbury Street, reclaiming the heart of Downtown Boston. The Fairmount/ the roadway for people. Indigo Line CDC Collaborative worked with artists to improve commuter rail stations and Efforts led by Community Organizations the public realm around the MBTA Fairmount • A coalition of advocacy and non-profit groups, commuter rail line. in partnership with the City, hosted a total of six “Circle the City” events that closed streets to cars in order to open them to programming for people walking, biking and skating. a guide to placemaking for mobility a better city 23

• The South End Food Trucks transform surface parking lots in SOWA into food destinations. PHOTO CREDITS • The UpTruck is a mobile arts lab created to engage residents on the streets of the Uphams Corner community. Front Cover: © Irene Figueroa Ortiz Pg 2-3: © Irene Figueroa Ortiz ENVISIONING A VIBRANT PUBLIC REALM Pg 5: Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism/ Creative Commons Boston faces a number of social, economic, and environmental forces that will shape its future pub- Pg 6: Bill Ilott/Creative Commons lic realm. Within Boston’s increasingly fragmented Pg 6: Ingfbruno/Creative Commons neighborhoods, the loss of organic community calls Pg 6: Isaac Wedin/Creative Commons for a public realm that creates a new generation of “third places,” or places distinct from home or work. Pg 7: Yaron1m/ Creative Commons In addition, competition between Boston and our Pg 7: Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism/ peer cities for increasingly scarce knowledge work- Creative Commons ers–the determinant natural resource for our grow- Pg 7: NewtonCourt/Creative Commons ing innovation economy–calls for a public realm that Pg 8–9: Some icons are adapted with permission constantly experiments with new ways to promote from work by Milky-Digital Innovation, James Fenton walkable and vibrant communities. and Katya Sotnikova from the Noun Project. New investment in mobility and the public realm Pg 11: David Salafia/Creative Commons should strive to harness these forces in order to Pg 12: Soe Lin/Creative Commons promote broad-based community benefit. Boston needs a public realm that invites people to interact, Pg 13: Madeleine Ball/Creative Commons get to know each other, and share ideas as a com- Pg 14: Pi.1415926535/Creative Commons munity across multiples lines of division. A Guide to Pg 17: © Irene Figueroa Ortiz Placemaking for Mobility aims to equip its reader Pg 18: Tim Sackton/Creative Commons with a framework of analysis to think critically about the public spaces that comprised our transportation Pg 19: Jude/Creative Commons network and reimagine ways to improve them. This Pg 20: Boston Complete Streets/Public Domain effort supports the overarching goal of the Public Pg 21: City of Boston/Public Domain Realm Planning Study for Go Boston 2030, which is to enhance the shared, public spaces that people Pg 22: Dave Levy/Creative Commons use to get from one place to another in Boston. Pg 23: Freeney/Creative Commons 24 a better city a guide to placemaking for mobility

A GUIDE TO PLACEMAKING FOR MOBILITY

33 Broad Street, Suite 300 Boston, MA 02109  617.502.6240  www.abettercity.org